12-13-2017, 03:33 AM
“I am PERFECT!”
Cell collapsed to the floor, the slap echoing into the distance. His last words rang in his head like fading bells. His mind wrestled with an invisible opponent, a mental fever that pinned him down and stopped his frantic thrashing. Flashes of light and images punctured his thoughts. The overwhelming cascade of ki that ground his body into atoms and its ear-splitting crackling surrounded him like a murderous tunnel. His mind’s eye disconnected from his head and travelled through the beam’s centre and towards its source. A wounded and bleeding child, his violet gi torn, his golden hair quivering, held a single hand forward. Blue energy poured out of his palm.
The look of hatred in that boy’s eyes reflected Cell’s own.
The bio-android jolted upright and leapt to his feet. A golden blanket of flames burst around his body as he heightened the flow of ki within himself. He crashed the base of his palms together and drew his cupped hands to his side. Ki drained into the space between, coalescing in yellow ambience.
The battle wasn’t over yet! He was Perfect Cell! No mere child, son of Goku or not, would stand in his way! His design was flawless and he would prove it by snuffing out this little upstart!
“Ka ... me ... ha ... me ... huh?”
Cell’s eyes widened. The energy pooled in his hands dissipated.
“What ... what is this?”
He blinked at his hands. They were grey only moments earlier but now they were green. His voice no longer sounded throaty and sophisticated; instead his words came out raspy. He thrashed about a tail that had, he thought, retracted back into his body, its needle-like tip scratching the glowing ground.
“No! No this can’t be!” he shouted.
Had he regressed forms? Had his perfect state been ripped away from him? Had Gohan’s Kamehameha really been that powerful? His cells were supposed to retain a memory of his ultimate potential once he reached it. It even remained after Android 18 was kicked out of his body. How could this be?
Cell spun about, his feverish terror abating long enough for him to notice his new surroundings. The blue sky and rocky plateau he battled on had vanished and had been replaced by a pearlescent eternity stretching out in all directions. A fountain sprayed water nearby. Taking only passing recognition of the new landscape, he instead focused on the only object within visual distance.
The bio-android dashed to the basin’s edge, his fingers gripping it tightly as he bent over and stared at his reflection. The cascading water relentlessly blurred the surface, his features twisting and moving in the ripples, but it was clear enough to see his face.
Cell lifted a shaking hand to his mouth. The humanoid chin and lips that decorated his chiselled jaw in his perfect form had been defaced with an oblong orange beak. His eyes, the pupils tall and slitted, stared back in horror, hot lead smouldering in the pit of his abdomen. The muscular physique had melted away to reveal a lithe, lean form ideal for swift and speedy manoeuvres but lacking the raw power he once wielded.
“No!” he rasped, clenching his cat eyes shut. “No! I can’t be like this! Not again! I was perfect!”
Cell dropped to his knees, the strength leaking from his legs, his forehead smacking the edge of the fountain. There he rested, his mind grappling with his new reality. Over and over he questioned his circumstances. How could this be? Why am I back in my imperfect form? Who is responsible for this? Where the hell am I?
The first realistic explanation slapped him in the face and he jerked his head up. “No! I’m not dead, am I?”
Cell stood to his feet and looked over his body as if he would notice a clear sign of his demise. His last memory was of his titanic energy struggle with the half saiyan brat, having almost overwhelmed him, until Vegeta fired a cheap shot into his back. The resulting distraction gave Gohan enough time to rally his strength and press through Cell’s attack. Yep, this must be it. The gods stripped me of my perfection and cast me into an empty void to suffer without end.
“Wait!” Cell said and peered back into the fountain’s pool of water. His genetic memories of Goku told him he would possess a specific item if he had kicked the bucket, as the saiyan had visited the afterlife once before. He squinted at his reflection, scouring the image for a golden halo above his head. There was no such item, no glow returned in the rippling water.
“So ... I’m not dead?” Then if he was still alive, where was he and what happened to him? “The perpetrator of this heinous act will wish they were never born!”
Cell tore away from the fountain and surveyed the bleak landscape, contemplating his next move. Rage built inside him, ordering him to action despite a lack of a plan. No, he thought. I am not perfect any longer. I must take things slowly until I can rectify my predicament. He calmed his anger, at least as much as he could, and tried to plot a course forward.
He needed more information. If he no longer had his perfect form, it could be that Androids 17 and 18 had been ripped from him and existed somewhere else. If so, he had to find them and reabsorb them. If not, he had to find a way back to Earth and back to his siblings. Either way would work. If he had travelled back in time to make his ultimate wish come true, he would find a way here as well.
Whatever the outcome, he had to stay low and off the radar. He wasn’t about to tangle with someone more powerful than him before he could attain perfection again. A fleeting thought raced through his mind. Who was powerful enough to force me back to my base form AND without me knowing? The thought sent a shiver from the top of his spine to the tip of his tail. He kept the concept in mind, but chose not to dwell on it. Not until he knew more.
Grey smudges blemished the unbroken white on the horizon. Cell couldn’t identify what they were, but other than the fountain, they were the only other objects that distinguished themselves from their surroundings. Pleased to find that his affinity with ki was not blocked, Cell lifted himself into the air and flew like a bullet over the bleak white plains, hoping to discover something new ... or at least a snack.
Cell collapsed to the floor, the slap echoing into the distance. His last words rang in his head like fading bells. His mind wrestled with an invisible opponent, a mental fever that pinned him down and stopped his frantic thrashing. Flashes of light and images punctured his thoughts. The overwhelming cascade of ki that ground his body into atoms and its ear-splitting crackling surrounded him like a murderous tunnel. His mind’s eye disconnected from his head and travelled through the beam’s centre and towards its source. A wounded and bleeding child, his violet gi torn, his golden hair quivering, held a single hand forward. Blue energy poured out of his palm.
The look of hatred in that boy’s eyes reflected Cell’s own.
The bio-android jolted upright and leapt to his feet. A golden blanket of flames burst around his body as he heightened the flow of ki within himself. He crashed the base of his palms together and drew his cupped hands to his side. Ki drained into the space between, coalescing in yellow ambience.
The battle wasn’t over yet! He was Perfect Cell! No mere child, son of Goku or not, would stand in his way! His design was flawless and he would prove it by snuffing out this little upstart!
“Ka ... me ... ha ... me ... huh?”
Cell’s eyes widened. The energy pooled in his hands dissipated.
“What ... what is this?”
He blinked at his hands. They were grey only moments earlier but now they were green. His voice no longer sounded throaty and sophisticated; instead his words came out raspy. He thrashed about a tail that had, he thought, retracted back into his body, its needle-like tip scratching the glowing ground.
“No! No this can’t be!” he shouted.
Had he regressed forms? Had his perfect state been ripped away from him? Had Gohan’s Kamehameha really been that powerful? His cells were supposed to retain a memory of his ultimate potential once he reached it. It even remained after Android 18 was kicked out of his body. How could this be?
Cell spun about, his feverish terror abating long enough for him to notice his new surroundings. The blue sky and rocky plateau he battled on had vanished and had been replaced by a pearlescent eternity stretching out in all directions. A fountain sprayed water nearby. Taking only passing recognition of the new landscape, he instead focused on the only object within visual distance.
The bio-android dashed to the basin’s edge, his fingers gripping it tightly as he bent over and stared at his reflection. The cascading water relentlessly blurred the surface, his features twisting and moving in the ripples, but it was clear enough to see his face.
Cell lifted a shaking hand to his mouth. The humanoid chin and lips that decorated his chiselled jaw in his perfect form had been defaced with an oblong orange beak. His eyes, the pupils tall and slitted, stared back in horror, hot lead smouldering in the pit of his abdomen. The muscular physique had melted away to reveal a lithe, lean form ideal for swift and speedy manoeuvres but lacking the raw power he once wielded.
“No!” he rasped, clenching his cat eyes shut. “No! I can’t be like this! Not again! I was perfect!”
Cell dropped to his knees, the strength leaking from his legs, his forehead smacking the edge of the fountain. There he rested, his mind grappling with his new reality. Over and over he questioned his circumstances. How could this be? Why am I back in my imperfect form? Who is responsible for this? Where the hell am I?
The first realistic explanation slapped him in the face and he jerked his head up. “No! I’m not dead, am I?”
Cell stood to his feet and looked over his body as if he would notice a clear sign of his demise. His last memory was of his titanic energy struggle with the half saiyan brat, having almost overwhelmed him, until Vegeta fired a cheap shot into his back. The resulting distraction gave Gohan enough time to rally his strength and press through Cell’s attack. Yep, this must be it. The gods stripped me of my perfection and cast me into an empty void to suffer without end.
“Wait!” Cell said and peered back into the fountain’s pool of water. His genetic memories of Goku told him he would possess a specific item if he had kicked the bucket, as the saiyan had visited the afterlife once before. He squinted at his reflection, scouring the image for a golden halo above his head. There was no such item, no glow returned in the rippling water.
“So ... I’m not dead?” Then if he was still alive, where was he and what happened to him? “The perpetrator of this heinous act will wish they were never born!”
Cell tore away from the fountain and surveyed the bleak landscape, contemplating his next move. Rage built inside him, ordering him to action despite a lack of a plan. No, he thought. I am not perfect any longer. I must take things slowly until I can rectify my predicament. He calmed his anger, at least as much as he could, and tried to plot a course forward.
He needed more information. If he no longer had his perfect form, it could be that Androids 17 and 18 had been ripped from him and existed somewhere else. If so, he had to find them and reabsorb them. If not, he had to find a way back to Earth and back to his siblings. Either way would work. If he had travelled back in time to make his ultimate wish come true, he would find a way here as well.
Whatever the outcome, he had to stay low and off the radar. He wasn’t about to tangle with someone more powerful than him before he could attain perfection again. A fleeting thought raced through his mind. Who was powerful enough to force me back to my base form AND without me knowing? The thought sent a shiver from the top of his spine to the tip of his tail. He kept the concept in mind, but chose not to dwell on it. Not until he knew more.
Grey smudges blemished the unbroken white on the horizon. Cell couldn’t identify what they were, but other than the fountain, they were the only other objects that distinguished themselves from their surroundings. Pleased to find that his affinity with ki was not blocked, Cell lifted himself into the air and flew like a bullet over the bleak white plains, hoping to discover something new ... or at least a snack.